Apparatus for producing gas.



PATENTED APR. l0, 1906.

JQS. SMITH. APPARATUS FOR PRODUGING GAS.

APPLICATION Hmm EEB a laos Mmm JACOB S. SMITH, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

APPARATUS FUR PRODUCING GAS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

.'catenteoi April 10, 1906.

Application filed February 8,1905. Serial No. 244,790.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB S. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for theManufacture of Gas for Heating and Illuminating Purposes, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact speci'cation.

This invention relates to improvementsin apparatus for manufacturing gasfor heating and illuminating purposes from liquid hydrocarbons, steam,and air.` v

The prime object of my invention is to provide means for dissociatingand reassociating entirely by the heats of conversion the gaseouselements of gas-producing materials into gases so thoroughly combinedand fixed that they may be washed, filtered, compressed, stored,transported, and distributed in pipes and mains for use without, as nearas may be, deterioration in either quality or volume, and thisparticularly with gas produced from oil, steam, and air.

A further object is to provide means for dissociating into its gases amaximum of the steam with an absence of an excess of carbon dioxid andnitrogen and to at the same time combine the liberated hydrogen withvolatilized carbon.

Another object is to provide means for controlling a gas-producingdegree of heat in a generator by adding to or subtracting from thesupply of one or all of the gas-producing materials to thegenerating-chamber and in such manner that a gas-producing degree oftemperature may be uniformly maintained in the generator in themanufacture of heating and illuminating gas, and particularly by thedecomposition of steam in the presence of volatilized carbon in theproduction of hydrocarbon as.

A still further object is to provide means whereby gas-producingmaterials supplied to a generator are first finely divided and thenviolently exploded and expanded by a forcible impact against ahighly-heated resistingsurface in the presence of a decomposing degree0f heatV in the generator, whereby decomposition is substantiallyquickened, the quantity of material consumed to sustain the necessaryheat therefor reduced, and the volume of fixed gas from a given quantityof gas-producing materials is substantial-ly increased.

A further object is to provide a novel and effective means fordischarging from gas heavy hydrocarbons and other solid refuse materialsbefore subjecting the gas to the operation of the ordinary scrubber andto filter the gas after being scrubbed, and all this by an enforcedpassage of the gases from the generator through said devices `to thegasmain or other receptacle.

With these ends in view my invention consists in certain features ofnovelty in the construction, combination, and arrangementof parts bywhich the said object and certain other objects hereinafter appearingare attained, all as fully described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the said drawings, Figure l represents a central vertical sectionthrough a gas apparatus embodying my invention, but with the pumpemployed in connection therewith shown in side elevation; and Fig. 2, aside elevation, partly in section, of a compressor.

Similar letters and numerals of reference indicate the same parts in thedrawings.-

A indicates a gas-generator provided at its top with a manhole 1 and atits bottom with a manhole 2 for access thereto and with a breaker-wall 3at the rear of a gas-generating chamber 4.

Into the front of the gas-generating chamber opens an air-supply pipe 5,surrounding an oil or other hydrocarbon pipe 6, in turn surrounding asteam-supply pipe 7, the diam eter of the pipe 6 being sufficientlysmaller than the pipe 5 to provide a surrounding airpassage and the pipe7 being of suiciently less diameter than the pipe 6 to form asurrounding passage for oil, and preferably in practice the pipes 6 7terminate shortly before reaching the inner end of the pipe 5 for thepurposes of promoting a more thorough mixture of the air, steam, and oilbefore entering the generating-chambert. These several supply-pipes maybe connected. in the usual manner with the sources for their supply, andthe oil and air pipe, and particularly the latter two, are preferablyconnected with means for directing their respective supply thereto underpressure, the said pipes being so arranged relative to the breaker-wallthat they shall deliver their supply against the face of thebreaker-Wall at a right angle thereto, and preferably with a forcesufficient to first finely `divide the materials and in such a mannerthat they will first be instantly violently exploded and then thoroughlymixed and ex- ICC panded within the generating-chamber. A short distancebelow the pipe 5 above described is a steam-pipe 8, also projectingthrough the front of the generating-chamber and in a line opposing andat a right angle to the breaker-wall 3, which pipe 8 serves to supplyadditional steam in a manner, hereinafter described, best promoting itsdecomposition and combination with the mixed gases evolved in thegenerating-chamber. Peekholes 9 and 10 are provided at the front of thestructure for observing the heats, current, and generation within.

Adj acently forward of the generatingchamber is a chamber B, separatedin part from the generating-chamber by adepending wall 11, which extendsfrom the top thereof to a point sufficiently above the bottom to afforda free passage 12 for the gases from the generator to the chamber B andwhich must therefore first descend through chamber 1 3 below thegenerating-chamber before entering the chamber B. The chamber B isprovided with manholes 14 and 15, respectively, at its top and bottomand for access thereto and discharges its gases through a pipe orpassage 16 near the top of the generatingchamber into a washer C, whichwasher may be cylindrical in form, as shown, or of any other desiredform. The washer C is provided with a series of downwardly-inclineddeflecting-plates 17, set at such an angle that they will shunt watersupplied through a pipe 18, entering the top of the Washer from oneplate to the other and with. such force as will prevent any carbonaccumulating on the plates, which, together with the water dischargingthrough the pipe 18, will subject the gas discharging from the chamber Bto the cleansing, cooling, and contracting effect of water baffied andshunted in the direction of its course. The unassociated carbon or tarand other solids extracted in this manner by the washer are deposited bythe current of water through a pipe 19 in the bottom of the washerdischarged into a trap 20.

Adjacent to the washer C is a scrubber D, connected by a pipe 21 withwasher C and which is located at a point toward the bottom of the washerand the scrubber, so that gases discharged from the washer must ascendthrough the scrubber and to a pipe 22, near the top thereof, beforeescaping from the latter. The scrubber is provided with the usualsubstantially horizontal plates 23, projecting from opposite sidesthereof and forming a zigzag passage for the ascent of the gases and forthe descent of water supplied to the scrubber through the pipe 24 in thetop thereof, the resulting tar and other solid matter accumulating inthe scrubber being discharged through the pipe 25 into a trap 26 andaccess being had to the scrubber-plate through the usual manholes 23a.Pipe 22 is citaat/9 provided with a vertical extension 27, projectingdownwardly and preferably centrally of a filter E, but terminating at apoint a short distance above the bottom of the filter.

The filter E, shown to be of cylindrical, but may be of any otherdesired form, has standing upon its bottom and projecting above thelower end of the pipe 27 pieces of round wood or iron poles or pipes 28,set vertically, filling the space between the pipe 27 and the shell ofthe filter, the space above the ends of these poles surrounding the pipe27 up to a point below the discharge-pipe 29 thereof near its upper end,being preferably filled with rye-straw 30, cut about one foot in lengthand tied in small bundles, with the straws set vertically, but may be ofother fibrous material suitable for the same purposes. The tar and otherrefuse accumulating in the filter E is discharged from the bottomthereof through a pipe 81 into a trap 32, the said filter being alsoprovided with a manhole 33 for access thereto. The filter-discharge pipe29 is connected with the suction end of a pump F, and gases entering thepump are discharged through a pipe34 into a compressor G `and thenceonwardly to a gasometer or other storage vessels or directly into themains, as may be desired. l

The compressor G comprises a closed receptacle 35, which may be ofcylindrical or other form, provided with a discharge-pipe 36, in whichis a valve 37, which may be used for controlling the degree of pressureto which the gases supplied to the compressorchamber by the pump F areto be subjected and also to regulate the degree of expansion, andtherefore the pressure, of the gases in the mains, a storage vessel, orother receptacle. The compressor is also provided with a pipe 38,controlled by a valve 39, through which are discharged waters ofcondensation resulting from the compression of the gases. The compressoris preferably located in a vat 40 ano' immersed in water orother coolingmedium supplied thereto through a pipe 41, which cooling medium afterserving to remove the heats of compression from the gas andcorrespondingly contracting it is discharged through a pipe 42,controlled by a valve 43.

ln the practical operation of the apparatus described the pump F is putin motion to induce a current of air into the generator A, and at whichtime the pipe 5 is open and oil is introduced through the pipe 6 intothe generating-chamber. When the chamber 4 and the breaker-wall 3 havebeen sufficiently heated, steam is injected into the generatingchamberthrough the pipe 7 under a sufficient pressure to deliver the steam andalso any oil or air discharging from the pipes 5 and 6, or either ofthem, forcibly with sufficient impact against the heated surface to veryfinely di- TOO IIO

vide the gas-producing materials into parti cles so minute as to therebyproduce instantaneous gasification, immediately followed by a thoroughmechanical mixing and complete chemical combination. As fast as thegases are thus generated they are by the action of the pump drawndownwardly through the chamber 13, through the passage 12, whence theymust rise in the chamber B to the passage 16 before escaping therefrom.Gases rising in the chamber B after discharging through the passage 16descend through the washer C, which in the meantime is supplied through.the pipe 18 with water sufficient in. volume and of a temperaturecapable of discharging a substantial portion of the heavy hydrocarbonsand other solid products from the gas and also from the inclined plates,which heavy hydrocarbons, largely in the form of tar, automaticallydischarge from the washer through the piple 19 into the trap 20. Thegases are disc arged from the washer C, through the pipe 21, into thescrubber D at or near its bottom and rising upwardly therein in a zigzagmanner, owing to the arrangement of the horizontal plates 23, against asupply of water through the pipe 24, flowing downwardly from plate toplate in contact with the ascending gases, the accumulating byeproductsin the meantime discharging through pipe 25 into trap 26. Gases from thescrubber discharge through pipes 22 and 27 to a point at or toward thebottom of the filter and escaping therefrom ascend in con tact with andbetween the poles or rods 28 through the straw filtering material 30,the poles 28 serving as desirable surfaces for collecting and conductingundecomposed materials coming in contact therewith and from the straw tothe bottom of the filter, and thereby promoting their collection thereinand discharge therefrom through the pipe 31 into the trap 32. Gaseswhich have passed through the washer, the scrubber, and the filter enterthe pump F-substantially, if not entirely, free of all objectionablesolids, and in this condition may be discharged onwardly to theirdestination, but under my invention are preferably discharged into thecompressor G through the pipe 34 for the purpose of removing condensablevapors therefrom, and thereby reduce the gases discharged from thecompressor to a condition for subsequent storing, transportation, anddistribution through mains with an entire absence, as near as may be, oftheir deterioration either in quality or volume, and this particularlywith gas produced from oil, steam, and air.

It is evident that gas generated by the decomposition of the gasmaterials in the pres-v ence of air will contain more or less nitrogen,depending upon the manner of conversion, and it is therefore one of thepurposes of this invention to effect a gasification of the gas materialswith the least possible quantity of air, to avoid an excess of nitrogenand dioXid in the resultant gases, while at the same time dissociating amaximum of steam to combine the thereby released hydrogen with thevolatilized carbon. I have `found by injecting oil and steamsimultaneously with a comparatively small volume of air forcibly againsta hot surface within a generating-cha1nber heated within to a gasifyingdegree, that the gasificationisinstantaneous, and that the conversion ofthe materials into gas will sustain the heats of the chamber and thesurfaces within to the proper degree so long as the materials are sosupplied, and that the opera tion may be continuous withoutinterruption, and that the elements in the gas materials are thusreleased and combined within the generating-chamber. The mixing,baffling, and contact with the surfaces of the breakerwall andgenerating-chamber caused by the explosive impact and instantaneouseXpansion of the forcible discharge against the heated surface of thebreaker so sets, combines, and fixes the escaping gases that thecustomary brick checker-work intervening between the discharge of thegeneratingchamber and the outlet of the apparatus is dispensed withentirely and the annoyance and delays caused by the clogging up of thechecker-work by carbon or other refractory materials are avoided. Thisinstantaneous conversion of the gas materials into gas in this manner isan important economy in that the saving of the heat by suchinstantaneous action of the elements necessarily reduces the quantity ofair consumed and lessens the resulting nitrogen and the quantity ofmaterials required for heat. A further saving is brought about byconducting the generated gases, so as to apply escaping heat to the rearof the breaker and breaker-wa1l to assist in sustaining the heats of thebreaker and generating-chamber, which correspondingly reduces thematerials consumed for maintaining a gasifying temperature within thegenerating-chamber, and thereby the dioXid of combustion and thenitrogen are reduced to a minimum, or, in other words, a uniform andcontinuous gasifying heat is maintained without interruption with theleast expenditure for the necessary heat.

Obviously the washing, scrubbing, filtering, and compressing of the toremove condensable vapors is not practical in the absence of such acomplete initial generation of fixed gases sufficient to insure theirproduc tion with commercial success, and with this in view it will beapparent that the essential feature of the invention herein described isthe means employed by which such generation on a commercial scale isinsured. The condition precedent to the commercial success for theproduction of a gas which is free from solids, and particularlycondensable vapors, and by which its compression into a IOO IIC

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minimum space vfor storage and transportation, is an initial generationof a large volume of fixed gas rapidly and continuously upon acommercial basis corresponding with that of gases now commonly employedwithout the absence of the solids and vapors referred to, This conditionprecedent is supplied by my invention through the directing of thegas-producing materials with forcible impact against a breaker-wallmaintained in a uniform highly-heated condition before discharging intoa Washer, scrubber, or other device employed for cooling and contractingthe gases. Another important feature of my invention is the means bywhich the decomposition of an additional-that is to say, an eXtra-amountof steam may be decomposed and thoroughly combined, both mechanicallyand chemically, with the gases of original generation and which is madepossible by discharging such steam within the heats of initialgeneration and across the path traversed before their escape from thegeneratingchamber, while at the same time contracting all of the gasesin a direction best disregarding their several specific gravities, andpromote their association Within the generatingchamber before and attheir immediate discharge therefrom.

Although seemingly the best results are secured by conducting thegenerated jlgases downwardly out of the gas-generating chamber andthence upwardly in contact with the rear surface ofthe breaker-wall, itwill be no substantial departure from my invention to have the gasesascend in escaping from the illgenerating-chamber, provided they arecaused to descend in contact with the rear face of the breaker-wall,for, as before intimated, the maintaining of a uniformly high degree ofheat made possible by heating the breaker-wall from both its front andrear sides is desirable and necessary in order to secure the very bestresults in the initial generation of the gas.

When the gases ascend out of the generating-chamber, it should beobserved that if an excess of steam is desirable then the steampipe 8should be in a plane above instead of in a plane below the point atwhich oil and steam are injected in'to the generatingchamber against thebreaker-wall for the purposes of initial generation.

IVhile an important feature of my invention is to successfullycommercially produce a dehydrated gas from oil and steam, and thereforea gas which may be stored and transported while under excessive pressureand subsequently used at that pressure and a low pressure withoutprecipitation-that is to say, without deterioration in either quality orvolume-my invention is not to be so limited, for it includes the meansherein described for the generation of the gas to the eX- clusion ofsaid subsequent compression and 'also either and both the Washing andscrubbing. Neither is my invention limited to the details ofconstruction shown, foritis apparent that they may be substantiallyvaried in substantially every part of the apparatus and yet contain theinvention herein described and set forth in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a gas-producing apparatus, a gasgenerator, a breaker-Wall locatedtherein across the entire path traversed by the gasproducing materialsdischarging into said generator, means uniformly maintaining thebreaker-Wall in a highly-heated conditionl and a decomposing degree ofheat in the vicinity thereof, and `means discharging gasproducingmaterials through said decomposing degree of heat and against saidbreakerwall with a forcible impact, finely dividing said materials inthe presence of a heat, dissociating substantially all of the gaseouselements of said materials into fixed gases, immediately reassociatedmechanically and chemically within the confines of thegenerating-chamber, substantially as described.

2. In a gas-producing apparatus, a generator, a breaker-wall locatedtherein across the entire path traversed by the gas-producing materialsdischarging into said generator, means continuously and uniformlymaintaining the breaker-wall in a highly-heated condition, and adecomposing degree of heat in the immediate vicinity thereof, and meanscontinuously discharging gas-producing materials through saiddecomposing degree of heat and against said breaker-wall with a forcibleimpact, finely dividing said materials in the presence of aheat,dissociatin@ substantially all of the gaseous elements of said materialsinto fixed gases immediately reassociated mechanically and chemicallywithin the confines of the generating-chamber, substantially asdescribed. y

3. In a gas-producing apparatus, a gasgencrator, a breaker-wall locatedtherein, means for uniformly maintaining said wall in a highly-heatedcondition, means for discharging gas producing materials against saidWall with forcible impact and in the' presence of a decomposing degreeof heat, in combination with a supplemental steam-supply pipedischarging steam Within the heats of primary generation and across thepath traversed by the gases at the point of their discharge from thegenerator, substantially as described.

4. In a gas producing apparatus, a gasgenerator, a resistingsurfacetherein and means maintaining said surface in a highlyheated condition,in combination with means 4directing gas producing materials againstsaid resisting-surface with forcible impact in the presence of adecomposing degree of heat IOO IIO

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and means whereby the generated gases are discharged in a direct linedownwardly out of the generating-chamber, substantially as described.

5. In an apparatus for manufacturing gas, a gas-generating chamber, aresisting-surface therein located within the heats of generation, andmeans maintaining said surface in a highly-heated condition, incombination with means directing gas producing i'naterials against saidresisting surface with forcible impact in the presence of a decomposingdegree of heat and means for conducting the gases directly downwardlyout of the generating-chamber and while in a highly-heated condition incontact with the rear of said. resisting surface, whereby the impact ofthe gas-producing materials shall be against a uniformly andcontinuously highly heated surface throughout their continuous supplythereto, substantially as described.

6. In an apparatus for manufacturing gas, a gas-generating chamber, aresisting-surface therein, means maintaining said surface in ahighly-heated condition, means directing gasproducing materials againstsaid resistingsurface with forcible impact against a decomposing degreeof heat, means discharging the gases of initial generation downwardlyand out of the generating-chamber, and means discharging steam withinthe influence of the direct heats of primary generation at a point nextbelow the line on which the materials therefor are discharged into thegeneratingchamber and in the path of the line traversed by the gases ofinitial generation in their discharge from the gasgenerating chamber',substantially as described.

7. In an apparatus for manufacturing gas, a generating-chamber, aresisting-surface located therein, means maintaining said surface in ahighly-heated condition, means directing gas-producing materials againstsaid surface with forcible impact in the presence of a decomposingdegree of heat, means discharging additional` gas materials into thegenerating chamber with forcible impact against said resisting-surfacewithin the confines of the generator, in direct contact with the heatsof initial generation and across the path of the latter during theirdischarge downwardly out of the generating-chamber, in combination withmeans for conducting the combined gases as generated in a higl'ilyheatedcondition to and in contact with the rear face of saidresisting-surface, whereby the combined heat of initial supplementalgeneration is utilized to maintain said resisting surface continuouslyin a uniformly highly heated condition, substantially as and for thepurposes described.

8. In an apparatus for :manufacturing gas, a gas generating chamber, animperforate breaker-wall arranged therein, means mains taining saidbreaker-wall throughout in a uniformlyhighly heated conditioncontinuously,

means for discharging' gas-producing materials with forcible impactdirectly Vagainst said wall in the presence of a decomposing degree ofheat, means for removing heavy hydrocarbons therefrom, means fordehydrating the Yfixed gases thereof, and means for delivering saidgases in a compressed condition into either a fixed or moving storagevessel or receptacle, substantially as described.

9. In a gas `producing apparatus, a gasgenerating chamber, a resistingsurface located therein, means maintaining Vsaid surface in ahighly-heated condition, means directing gas-producing materials againstsaid resisting-surface with forcible impact in the presence of adecomposing degree of heat in the initial generation of gases therein,means supplying additional steam to said generating-chamber in thepresence of decomposing degree of heats of generation, and in the pathof the discharge of the gases of initial genera tion from thegenerating-chamber, means for removing heavy hydrocarbons and otherunvaporized materials from the fixed gases discharging from thegenerating-chamber and means for dehydrating the said fixed gases,substantially as and for the purpose described.

10. In a gas-producing apparatus, a gasgenerating chamber, animperforate resisting-surface located therein, means maintainf ing saidsurface in a highly-heated condition, means directing gas producingmaterials against said resisting surface with forcible impact in thepresence of a decomposing degree of heat in the initial generation ofgases therein, means supplying additional steam to saidgenerating-chamber in the presence of a decomposing degree of heatresulting from initial generation and in the path of the discharge ofthe gases of initial generation from the generating-chamber, means forremoving heavy hydrocarbons and other unva orized materials from thefixed gases disc iarging from the generating-chamber and means fordelivering said fixed and dehydrated gas to a storage vessel,substantially as described.

JACB S. SMITH.

Witnesses:

JNO. G. ELLIOTT, M. B. ALLsTADT.

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